Carlisle art show reflects on Storm Desmond

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Fire and Rescue teams rescuing people out of flooded homes in CarlisleImage source, PA
Image caption,

Hundreds of homes in Carlisle were flooded in December 2015

Almost two years' after Storm Desmond brought havoc to Cumbria, an exhibition inspired by the deluge is set to open.

Thousands of homes and businesses around the county were flooded in December 2015 when a month's rain fell in a few hours.

Cumbria University and Carlisle City Council invited artists to take up residence in Carlisle to develop new work in response to it.

Immersion/Emergence will run at The Old Fire Station until 1 December.

Carlisle-based artist Laura Harrison's installation Suspension focuses on dark spaces and the track water takes from the hills to the sea.

It is on show in an unheated outbuilding, which organisers say will "heighten the experience" of those viewing it.

Image source, Laura Harrison
Image caption,

The Suspension installation is on show in an unheated outbuilding, to add to its effect

Ms Harrison said: "It's taken six months and I hope it reflects the spirit that really lifted the city in the weeks and months after the storm.

"People really rallied together and I'll be interested to see what they make of my installation."

There is also a work called Soundings, by John Dummett, which uses text and readings, and draws on sources including Daniel Defoe's The Storm, and the Met Office account of Storm Desmond.

Roddy Hunter, director of the Institute of the Arts at the University of Cumbria, said: "These kinds of installations inspired by recent events demonstrate how art can be used as a medium to capture the thoughts and feelings of a community and reflect it to a wider audience."

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